For once, I disagree with Will Pitt. I watched ...

[DemoTex]

I watched tonight, and saw and learned some amazing things. Most of the government criminals of the last 25 years were united again. As they trooped by the catafalque, Tweety sounded like Rick Nelson crooning "Garden Party." I heard tonight - and was amazed - that Reagan offered to send Oliver North to brief Canada's Brian Mulrooney on the evidence to bomb the Kadafi camp for that state's link to the bombing of Pan Am 103 in 1988. Lying Oliver, fer-Christ's-sake! That made me realize that North was much more dangerous and did much more damage than we ever knew. I watched (with the "mute" feature enabled), as Snarlin' Dick snarled out platitudes. I got to see the wives (the et ux crew) of some of the criminals. Even old Maggie Thatcher showed. The mute button made it bearable. The avalanche of dubious history made it a must.

Mac

[demnan]

1. Yeah the worst thing about it

is the dignity and beauty of those young people in the military in the ceremony, who, like the ones in Iraq, are being callously used to promote the image of an illegal criminal.

[DemoTex]

2. I agree, but it is their job. They are members of an elite ceremonial unit

I was particularly interested by the USAF choir (with some corny name like "The Singing Sargent's." Well, they were damned good. For $2.4 million one wants good music. No, the occasion demands it. The choir leader was a bird-colonel. All the stripes I saw were five-down and three-up. Is that an E-8 (I cannot remember)? What's it called in the USAF? There used to be a joke about NCO chevrons at a high level, but damn if I can remember it. Also, most of that USAF choir, and the choir-director, had what looked like jump-wings over their left breast-pocket.

[Steven_S]

9. five down and three up is CMSgt

Chief Master Sergeant. E9.

[WilliamPitt]

3. Some people have the constitution to withstand

such a fusillade of bullshit. Most don't.

Prosit! :toast:

[DemoTex]

5. Toast taken, and reciprocated.

Don't think for a minute that I've forgotten about my three-year-old promise of a cool one at the Brew Moon. How did I know I'd be totally grounded and have to give up those great milk-runs to BOS? One day ... someway.

Mac

[WilliamPitt]

7. Well

since I live pretty much in downtown Boston, when you do make it out here, we have a lot of fun to take care of. :)

[Lars39]

4. Ollie North was in Iraq, too.

How many years down the road will we find out what he was doing then?

[KoKo]

6. I don't know how you can deal with it! I haven't watched any of it, and

normally I'm one of those sentimental types who would feel it was worth watching some of it for historical purposes. The whole thing makes me sick and even seeing the subject lines of posts here about it get me crazy.

I look on it as a propaganda pageant and I feel sad that this is what it's come to for me. :-( But, if you find something worthwhile in it then, to each his own...:shrug:

[DemoTex]

8. "Know your enemy ..."

Now, more than ever.

[July]

11. I decided to check it out, and man, am I sorry.

I've successfully resisted conventional TV news for some months now, but I decided to check out the hoopla. What a mistake.

Apparently, there are no actual journalists left in American televison. (I switched to BBC America when I couldn't take another minute, and I think I've got it right; BBC wasn't incredible, but at least it was serious.)

The "man-on-the-street" interviews of spectators along the parade route was egregiously awful. I think it was MSNBC. The Somebody Morales bimbo interviewing the average types couldn't do anything beyond offering leading questions about just how wonderful Reagan was. The responses were straight out of a Miss America pageant ("I admired his courage -- WTF? -- God Bless America").

Very, very painful. I'm not going back there.

[DemoTex]

12. You think they might have "balanced" the street interviews with DUers?

The "man-on-the-street" is the die-hard Reagan fan. Probably a Bu$hie too. Take it in stride. WE don't need YOU (and that is a generic "you") sticking your head in the sand now. Gut it out. Watch and learn. Get smart.

[graham67]

10. I turned it on for the first time this afternoon....

I missed all of the earlier bullshit. I was very interested to see what a state funeral is like and I managed to block out all the assholes standing around the casket. Some of the ceremony is rather spectacular and some of it was most bizarre (a frigging marching band???)